Google Play Music

Google’s efforts in music have had a number of names before arriving at Play Music in March 2012. The online service consists of a cloud locker, streaming service, and podcast directory. As of February 2015, Google bumped the number of songs users can freely upload from 20,000 to 50,000. Those songs are downloadable and listenable from Android and iOS, as well as a web app.

All Access is a $9.99 per month streaming service that gives users access to 35 millions songs and countless radio channels and playlists. As of 2015, it is available in 63 countries and sold in conjunction with YouTube Red in some regions. Most recently, Play Music added support for podcasts subscribing and listening.

Google Maps revealed a handy new Commute tab earlier this month, and alongside it, the app also debuted native music controls for a handful of popular services. Here’s how to add Spotify to Google Maps.

The state of Google’s media services is currently a bit of a mess. The lines between Google Play Music and YouTube are blurred in somewhat confusing ways. This has caused double-billing issues for some, which Google has now addressed in a new support guide.

With the revamp and launch of the new YouTube Music, Google has stated that nothing should change for users who use Play Music. But in case you’re worried about your purchased music or the songs you’ve uploaded to the service, it’s easy to download a copy of everything to your computer. Here’s how.

For the past several months, a revamp to Google’s streaming music offerings has been widely rumored. A new report today pegs the launch of the revamped YouTube Music for next week, while YouTube Red and other video features will be replaced by a new “Premium” service.

Update: A source tells us that Google is currently planning to stick with the “YouTube Music” brand for the forthcoming music service. Remix, as has been previously reported, is only the internal codename.

A tipster told us recently that Google has lately been “preparing to shut down Google Play Music,” something that I hinted at early today in a tweet listing the service among a couple of other current Google products that I think are about to get cut. While we couldn’t corroborate the tip, it appears Droid-Life has — Play Music subscription streaming is likely shutting down soon.

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The last update to Play Music for Android was in February with a minor and solitary addition of a setting to remove album artwork from the lock screen. A new version today consolidates several options under a new “Location & Privacy” section and adds others that were previously only found on the web.